Janez Janša: Caspian region plays a key role in Europe's energy security

Energy supplies from the Caspian region play an important role in ensuring Europe's energy security, Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša told journalists ahead of the European Political Community (EPC) summit.

According to Report's correspondent in Dublin, he said that Azerbaijan and European countries shared an interest in ensuring that the energy resources of the Caspian region contributed to strengthening Europe's strategic autonomy.

Janša recalled that 25 years ago, efforts had been made to change the route of the South Stream gas pipeline to help Europe reduce its dependence on a single energy source – Russia. However, he noted that those efforts had been unsuccessful, adding that Europe's situation would be different today had things taken another course.

He stressed that the Caspian region was of enormous importance to Europe's energy security.

Asked about his expectations for the 2028 European Political Community (EPC) summit in Azerbaijan, Janša said the event was highly significant not only in terms of security issues but, above all, because of the Caspian region's substantial energy resources.

He added that it was in the common interest of Azerbaijan and European countries to ensure that these resources helped strengthen Europe's strategic autonomy.